Chapter Thirty-Nine Blake
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Blake
“Languages aside, what the fuck’s your problem?” Levi asked.
It took a beat before everyone clued in on who the question was for. Marshall scowled. “Uh. What?”
“You. What’s your problem? You’ve been a bitch for a full week.
I’m sick of it. You have a problem with me, with Creight, either say your shit now or shut your trap.
” Levi shifted forward, gesturing to me.
“You don’t think this comes on her? You think you can have a problem, but it’s not going to bother Blake?
You don’t know Blake, if you think that. ”
“You know what? Fuck this.” Marshall abruptly shoved up from the couch. “We’re just going to fight if we stay here. Sorry, Palm. I tried. I really did, but I can’t sit here with this”—he motioned to where we were sitting—“trash here.”
I gulped. “Trash, huh?” I deflated.
Marshall froze. “I-I didn’t mean you, Bla—”
He meant Creighton and Levi, but I was like them. They were mine.
Levi was right. No matter what, I’d get hit in the crossfire.
I jerked a shoulder up, my appetite gone.
“It’s fine. It’s not like I haven’t heard it all my life.
” I shoved to my feet, too, and began to leave.
I got as far as three steps before a hand tugged on the back of my hoodie, stopping me.
I was breathing harshly. The hand was familiar, so I didn’t look back, just waited, and he crowded in.
His heat surrounded me, his chest to my back.
His voice was low as he asked, “Can I hurt him now?”
I knew Marshall hadn’t meant me. I knew it, but others had.
I was trash to them. I was beneath them.
My family didn’t want me. I didn’t get to have a mom and a dad.
No one adopted me. No one loved me. Kids were cruel, yeah, but most of those statements were spoken by adults and never in front of Creighton.
I drew in a shuddering breath.
He had protected me since he met me, and he was still doing it. I blinked back tears.
I knew not to weaponize him. God. I really did, but he was here.
I wasn’t wanted.
I wasn’t loved.
Except Creighton did. In his way, he did.
He couldn’t love, but he was here. He was always here. At my back.
He was asking for permission to fight for me.
A pinching sensation began to push down in my chest, like someone was pressing a closed fist to my sternum and was continuing to push down, down, down until—I broke. A rough whisper escaped me. “Don’t physically hurt him.” After that, I fled.
“Blake!” Palma came after me.
I hurried to my room, but I knew I couldn’t stay here.
You’re overreacting.
What did you just do?
You’re taking this too far.
My breathing was coming in hard, ragged, and I waited, prepared for an onslaught of comments like that, but they had no idea what it was like growing up unwanted from day one. Not one clue.
But fuuuuck.
Creighton unleashed Levi. I unleashed Creighton.
I shoved through into my room and began to pace, my hands in fists at my side.
Shit.
What had I done?
I needed to go back. I needed to call Creighton off, but it was too late. I’d already lifted the gate, and Creighton would not go back into the stall. He’d laugh at me if I went down there to try to harness him again.
He was an asshole like that.
The door was opened. Palma was there. She held a hand to her chest.
I shook my head as I continued to pace. “I know he didn’t mean me. I know that.” I flinched, not even wanting to imagine what was happening down there now. “Tell me Creighton’s not actually killing him.” I chanced a look at her, and stopped short.
She was pissed. Pissed. “Who the fuck cares. Marshall’s been out of line for an entire week. He’s like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. He always wants things to go his way, and for once, it’s not. Christ, Blake. Don’t apologize. Marshall knew exactly what he was saying.”
I swallowed. “What do you mean?”
She folded her arms tightly over her chest. Her eyes were glittering from her own anger. “Just that I don’t care what your guy does to him. Marshall deserves it. It’d be good for him to be knocked down a few pegs.” She eyed me in concern. “What do you need?”
I shook my head, not having one clue.
No, I did. I needed to go down there and figure out some way to stop Creighton because they really did not understand what I’d done.
I cursed, and pulled my phone out. I called Lassiter.
He answered almost right away. “Did he kill someone?”
A laugh escaped me because of course he’d answer that way, and of course his tone was accepting.
Even hopeful. “No, but . . .” I needed to think about this.
Did I really want to bring Lassiter into this?
He was another weapon in Creighton’s arsenal.
I’d only told Creighton not to harm my housemate.
I never said anything about anyone else.
That’d be how he could get around me. Such a dickface.
“I need you to promise me something, even if Creighton gives you orders that go against it.”
Palma’s eyebrows shot up.
I waited, and as I did, the room seemed to shrink around me.
“Okay.”
I frowned. That was easy. “Really?”
A dark chuckle came from the other end. “Yes, Blake. What do you need from me?”
“Don’t physically harm my housemates.”
“Done. Now what do you need from me? I’m already on the way to your place. What am I going to be walking into?”
I hesitated. “I don’t know. I went upstairs. My one housemate was being an asshole—”
Palma bit out, “That’s putting it mildly.”
I continued to Lassiter, “I don’t know what I need, to be honest. I just—”
“Got it. You need a distraction. I’ll be that for you.” He ended the call abruptly.
I looked at my phone, my mind racing.
“Who did you call?”
“Lassiter.”
The voices downstairs went up another level in volume.
We both turned as if we could see through the door and down into the living room to see what was happening.
Lassiter said we needed a distraction. I clung to that, knowing I’d have to process the events that happened tonight at a later time, but we were in the damage control phase.
That meant getting Creighton away from Marshall.
“We need to go out.”
Palma said, “Uh. Okay. Where do you want to go?”
I was thinking. Calculating. Not to any of Creighton’s places. That’d be his territory. His men would be there. We needed somewhere neutral, where Creighton couldn’t give orders and have thirty men do his bidding.
“Octavia.” That was perfect.
“Didn’t you quit there?”
I nodded, my excitement beginning to build. It was wonderful. Yeah, I’d been kidnapped from there, but what were the chances it’d happen a second time? And with Creighton present? It wouldn’t happen. West and Walden wouldn’t dare.
Octavia was just the place to go.
I smiled widely at Palma. “Let’s go to a nightclub, and uh, Marshall can’t come with us.”
Palma’s eyes were wide, unblinking. “I mean, duh. Of course, but are you sure that’s what you want to do? I don’t feel I’m totally following what’s happening here.”
She didn’t. She couldn’t.
I decided, just this once, to lay it out for her. “Marshall did the worst thing he could do. He hurt me. Creighton’s killed men who might’ve hurt me.” I waited, letting that sink in her head.
It didn’t take long. She shuddered. “I have a question.”
“Yeah?”
“That robbery last weekend. They took two of those guys out. What happened to them?”
My mouth dried up. “What do you think?”
Yeah. She was getting it now.
She whispered, “We have to go out.”
“Now.”